The 20 Paris Arrondissements – Guide To The Neighborhoods

The Paris arrondissements are where you'll find the art, history, culture, and the quartiers where Parisians live. As Paris grew from a small town centered on the Islands, it required more administrative and new districts. The current division of twenty Paris arrondissements occurred during the time of the reconstruction of Paris under Baron Haussmann in the mid-19th century.

If you look at the Paris arrondissements on a map they form a spiral, starting at the western tip of Île de la Cité with the 1st Arrondissement, running in a clockwise direction until the 20th Arrondissement hits the eastern boundary of the city. Together, the twenty Paris arrondissements define the city and are referred to as the "twenty little cities".

Arrondissements – Home to Parisians & Visitors Alike

It's surprising how many Parisians have traditionally spent most of their time in their home arrondissement, with little reason to leave it! Each of the arrondissements contains unique sections or neighborhoods or quartiers that easily come to feel like home as soon as you spend even a little time there.

As a visitor, you'll discover that each of the Paris arrondissements have their own feel and attractions. You may not make it to all the Paris arrondissements and neighborhoods, but here's a quick guide to help you focus on the important places to see and do in each arrondissement.

The map above shows the numbers of the Paris arrondissements as well as the names of the neighborhoods. Click on the map for a larger version. Map copyright Eric Gaba & Voconces Culinary Ltd.

The Heart of Paris – 1st & 2nd Arrondissements

As well as being the oldest and most central, the 1st & 2nd Arrondissements are two of the smallest districts in Paris. For centuries it was the seat of royal power in France. Today you'll find many classic Paris attractions here — Palais Royal, the Louvre, the Tuileries Garden, Saint Eustache, Place de la Concorde… the list goes on.

Discover what to see and what not to miss in these historic Paris arrondissements – the heart of Paris.

The Marais: 3rd & 4th Arrondissements

The Marais — encompassing the 3rd and 4th Arrondissements — is one of the oldest and most charming quartiers of the city. Built over marshlands ("marais"), it was the favoured neighborhood of the aristocracy from the 13th to the 17th centuries.

Today it's where you'll find trendy shops, the liveliest alternative community, the center of the Jewish community, the Hotel de Ville (Paris City Hall), and thousands of Parisians out for Sunday brunch.

It's also where you find the equilateral Place de Vosges, the first royal park in Paris open to the public.

The Latin Quarter – 5th Arrondissement

The Latin Quarter, which is the 5th Arrondissement, dates back to Roman times and is where you'll find the Pantheon, the Sorbonne; Rue Mouffetard, the bustling market street; and the winding cobblestone streets of old Paris. It's also where you'll find vestiges of Roman Paris and some of the best food markets in the city.

The Latin Quarter is one of the most well-known districts of Paris and home to the universities. In fact, the name of the quartier dates back to the time when the languages spoken by the students at the universities was Latin.

St Germain Paris – 6th Arrondissement

One of the prettiest areas in Paris, Saint-Germain-de-Pres was, in the 19th century and the earlier part of the 20th century, the haunt of both the French existentialists and the Americans of the Lost Generation. Home to the Jardin du Luxembourg and the church of St-Germain-des-Pres, it also sports very nice shopping streets. We go to St Germain for clothing, for groceries, for chocolate, for the cafes, and for the park.

The South – 13th, 14th & 15th Arrondissements

These three large Paris arrondissements sweep across the south of the city and are home to many Parisians, who live in a mixture of 19th-century buildings and modern apartments. To serve them there are tons of markets, stores, and Metro stations.

These southern arrondissements are not on the usual tourist route, but they are diverse.

You'll find Chinatown (13th); La Tour Montparnasse (15th), which rises about the gare of the same name and is the only skyscraper central Paris; the modernist Parc André Citroën out on the edge of the 15th; and Porte de Versailles, the large exposition grounds.

Paris West – 16th & 17th Arrondissements

The 16th is the westernmost arrondissement. It's a large, wealthy residential neighborhood where you'll find Musée Marmatton, luxury shopping, and the vast Bois de Boulogne.

It's just across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower and some of the best views of that monument are to be had from the Trocadero.

Bordering it to the north is the 17th, another large Paris arrondissement, that starts at the Arc de Triomphe and the intersection called l'Etoile. It's densely packed with middle-class Parisians and has tons of services, great markets, and interesting shopping.

Paris Arrondissement Fun Facts

• Paris was only divided into the current twenty arrondissements in 1860, when Napoleon III added new territory to the city — towns and villages that were previously outside the city walls.

• The current arrondissements are numbered in a clockwise spiral, starting with the 1st Arrondissement at the Seine.

• Before Napoleon III came to power Paris had twelve arrondissements, numbered from west to east (left to right on a map).

• Before Paris had the uniform blue street signs you find today, the street name was often chiseled into the corner of buildings. Today you can still find the old arrondissement numbers on some buildings, as well as some old street names.

• The arrondissement number is used as the last two digits of its Paris postal code. The 1st Arrondissement is 75001, the 4th is 75004, the 20th is 75020 and so on.